


Just Another One

by SpellStorm



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Best Friends, Chatting & Messaging, Foster Care, Friendship, Humanstuck, Multi, Online Friendship, Pesterlog, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-02-21 13:26:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2469848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpellStorm/pseuds/SpellStorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which Dad is a foster parent and Jade is just another in a long line of orphans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Another One

Your name is JOHN EGBERT, and right now you’re wondering what the hell your dad is trying to pull.

Okay, so you’ve gotten used to all the kids. They’ve been in and out since you can remember, and most of them have been pretty cool.

(Especially that Vriska chick. She was your first crush.)

But Dad had made you a promise, and this was ripping it right in half. And stomping on the pieces.

_And burning them._

You stare at the girl in your entryway, taking in the round wire-framed glasses and long wavy black hair. She’s dressed simply enough, in a white t-shirt and a long khaki skirt. She’s fidgeting with the ends of her hair, green eyes flicking up to look at you for seconds before staring back at the floor.

“This is Jade Harley,” Dad is saying. “Jade, this is my son, John. He’s fourteen, same as you. You’ll be in the same grade as him once school starts.”

He looks at you expectantly. Sighing mentally, you force a smile and say, “It’s nice to meet you, Jade.”

Her eyes flick up to you again. “Hi, John,” she whispers. She still won’t look you in the eye.

You wonder what her problem is.

“John, why don’t you show Jade to her room and let her get settled in?” Dad says. “I’m going to start lunch.”

Resisting the urge to grumble, you jerk your head for the girl to follow.

(You refuse to call her by her name. Using her name means acknowledging her. Acknowledging her means accepting her presence. And you _do not_ accept it.)

It takes a lot of restraint to not drag your feet on your way up the stairs.

As you lead her down the hall, you point out different doors. “Dad’s room, bathroom, my room,” you mutter.

You stop in front of the door next to yours. “This is yours.” You push open the door and step inside. It’s set up almost identical to your bedroom: a bed in one corner, a set of drawers beside the door, a desk and chair. All that’s missing is a chest near the bed and the multitude posters plastering your walls.

When you turn, the girl is looking in tentatively from the doorway. You roll your eyes. “You can come in. It’s your room now.” Under your breath, you add, “At least until you leave.”

She walks in and puts a small duffle bag on the mattress.

You glance behind her. “Where’s the rest of it?” you ask.

She shrugs. “This is all.”

You let out a mental _whatever_ and turn away. “I’ll be in my room. If you need anything, knock.” _You better not need anything_ , is what you don’t say.

Once in your bedroom, you boot up your computer -- a birthday gift from your dad three years ago -- and log into your Pesterchum. You check the CHUMROLL.

arachnidsGrip  
arsenicCatnip  
carcinoGeneticist  
gallowsCalibrator  
grimAuxiliatrix  
tentacleTherapist  
turntechGodhead  
twinArmageddons

When you first joined, you only had two names listed: your best friends, who you don’t actually know personally because they don’t live in Washington. But then you found some of your old foster siblings and got pretty close to them again, and the list grew. Rose and Dave are still your best friends, but now you talk pretty regularly with the others.

It’s nice to know you and Dad made better lives for a few people by giving them the chance no one else would.

Only three handles are highlighted: _carcinoGeneticist_ , _arsenicCatnip_ , and _tentacleTherapist_. You can’t remember why you ever added the first, and the second is fun to talk to, but not about serious things. That leaves the third.

You click the name.

\-- ghostyTrickster [GT] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] \--

GT: rose, thank god youre on

GT: i need to talk to someone

TT: Hello, John :)

TT: What is it?

GT: i told you about the deal my dad and i made, right?

GT: the promise

TT: The one from New Years? Yes, I remember it. He agreed to take a year off from fostering if you passed all your classes.

GT: yeah

GT: and i did

GT: so he has to keep his end, right?

TT: That is typically how deals go, yes.

TT: Why?

GT: guess what he brought home today?

TT: Did he say why?

GT: no, he went to make lunch

GT: told me to show her to her room

GT: which i did

GT: then came to talk to you

TT: Could it be possible that your father has a good reason for breaking the deal?

TT: Maybe there are extenuating circumstances?

GT: what?

GT: rose, im not a genius like you

GT: i dont read the dictionary for fun

TT: Extenuate. Verb. To make (guilt or an offense) seem less serious or more forgivable.

TT: It means that maybe he has a good reason.

TT: You should talk to him.

TT: Communication is important in any kind of relationship.

TT: For example, do you think Kanaya and I would have lasted a year and a half if we didn’t communicate?

GT: i guess

GT: how are you guys still together?

TT: I just told you: we communicate.

TT: And also, I love her.

TT: <3

TT: By the way, I know Kanaya’s family is still very grateful to your dad for letting them adopt Karkat.

TT: And to you for ever bringing it up.

Oh yeah. That’s why you added carcinoGeneticist. He’s Rose’s girlfriend’s brother.

TT: Anyway, John.

TT: I really think you should talk to your father about this development.

TT: And you should give her a chance.

TT: So what is her name?

GT: gotta go, lunch is ready

GT: bye

TT: I know it’s not

TT: And you’re just avoiding the question.

TT: But that’s okay.

TT: Bye, John :)

\-- ghostyTrickster [GT] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] \--

You should have expected that. There’s always another side to the problem where Rose is concerned.

Your computer pings.

\-- arsenicCatnip [AC] began pestering ghostyTrickster [GT] \--

AC: :33 

Despite yourself, you smile a bit at your friend’s antics.

GT: *gt smiles widely* hey, ac!!!

AC: :33 

GT: thats great, nepeta!

GT: i know he doesnt let you have sweets often

GT: so thats a big deal!

AC: :33 

GT: by friends you mean those stray cats in your neighbors hedges?

AG: :33 

You’d forgotten how entertaining it is to have an autistic kid around.

GT: speaking of treats

GT: how is your cat?

~~***~~

You talk to Nepeta for a while until your dad calls you for lunch. After saying goodbye, you log off and head to the kitchen. A minute later, the girl hesitantly joins you at the table.

“So, Jade,” Dad says. “Got everything set up? The bed comfortable enough?”

She nods her head. “Thank you, Mr. Egbert,” she whispers.

He smiles at her. “I told you, call me James or Dad. Whichever you’re more comfortable with.”

She doesn’t reply, just starts in on the banana and jelly sandwich on her plate.

Your dad fills the silence with idle chatter, asking you about your friends and your piano and the pet salamander you’d insisted on having for your birthday. You assure him that everyone is fine, you’d just spoken to Rose and Nepeta earlier, that you practiced the new sheet music he’d given you last week, and that Casey is just fine, thank you.

Through it all, the girl remains quiet.

She waits until you get up to ask to be excused. Dad agrees, and she places her plate in the dishwasher before going back upstairs, presumably to her room.

Once you and your dad are alone, your amiability fades.

“What the heck?”

He looks at you. His face tells you he’s been expecting this. But he just replies with, “What is it?”

It sounds so much like the beginning Rose and your conversation, but you push past that. “She’s a foster kid.”

“Yes.”

You stare at him. “‘ _Yes_ ’? That’s all you’re going to say?” You can feel your cheeks flush with anger. “We had a deal! I passed all my classes with As and Bs. Now it hasn’t even been a month since school ended and you’ve already broken your end!”

He just looks at you calmly. “I did it for a good reason.”

“It’s always for a good reason! A bad home situation, an abusive family member, suicide watch. A disability. You promised me you wouldn’t take in any this year. You told me it’d be just us!”

“Lower your voice,” he says.

You struggle to calm down. “Why is she here?”

“I told you; it’s for a good reason.”

You shake your head. “Not good enough.”

You turn to leave. When you’re almost through the door, you hear him say, “No one else would take her. Would you rather she go to an orphanage for five years?”

You don’t answer.

~~***~~

TG: it makes sense

It’s been an hour since you blew up at your dad, and you’ve calmed down slightly. You’re currently flopped on your bed, talking to your best bro on Pesterchum using your dad’s handheld that you swiped.

GT: how?!?

TG: your dad has one of the best success rates when it comes to placing kids

TG: every one hes fostered has gotten adopted

TG: no matter how old

TG: like tz

Great. Of course Dave’s on your dad’s side. Last year you’d fostered a girl named Terezi. Dad had been really worried for her. Most people didn’t want older kids, and she was thirteen, like you. It didn’t help that the same freak accident that killed her parents had left her blind.

Two months after she came, she was adopted by the Zahhak family in Texas -- the same family who’d adopted Nepeta years before. Dave met her at school and they’d become almost as close as Rose and Kanaya.

Terezi had been your dad’s quickest placement. You guys always got the troubled kids.

GT: but he promised

TG: so

GT: and he broke the promise!

TG: look dude

TG: im not saying what he did is right

TG: i mean a promise is a promise

GT: exactly!

TG: but it sounds like it was important

TG: i mean tz told me about living in a group home

TG: you dont get the attention you need cuz of all the kids

TG: somewhere like that is no place for a blind girl

TG: maybe this chick has some sort of mental disability like tzs sis

TG: whats she like

GT: i dont know!

GT: quiet

GT: she only has one bag

GT: and she seems sort of nervous, i guess

TG: so maybe its a case like captors

GT: but hes nothing like her. hes loud and pushy!

TG: everyone reacts differently

TG: and anway he wasnt always like that

TG: you told me he was scared when you met him

TG: he wouldnt play with you or anything

TG: he only started being defensive after he was adopted

GT: when did you become rose?

TG: gross dude

TG: dont compare me to my cousin

TG: thats not cool

“JOHN!”

You groan.

GT: hold on, dads calling

You force yourself off your perfectly comfortable mattress and open your door. “WHAT!”

He looks up at you from the foot of the stairs. “I got called into the office. I’ll be home late, so you’re on your own for dinner. _No junk food_ ,” he says sternly. “And I want you to stay indoors tonight.”

You nod and go to close your door.

“John.”

Rolling your eyes, you groan, “ _What?_ ”

He gives you one of his meaningful looks. “I don’t want you in your room all night. Maybe you could try being social?”

You can practically hear the italics.

You hold up the handheld. “I’m talking to Dave.”

“You know what I mean.” He jerks his head in the direction of the living room.

Grumbling, you close your door.

GT: he has to work

GT: and he wants me to be social

TG: guess ill talk to you later then

TG: have fun being social

GT: -_-


End file.
